Legacies

Legacy fundraising can be one of the most cost-effective ways of raising money for charities. It can also be the most challenging. Successful legacy fundraising requires care and sensitivity. It’s a tough area to approach proactively.

That’s why few organisations run really successful programmes. Many charities simply rely instead on just waiting for the occasional gift to come in, meaning they miss out on a potentially huge funding source.

Charity legacy fundraising

We can help you overcome the potential pitfalls and develop a charity legacy programme that’s appropriate for your charity and your supporters. We’ll use our many years of experience and knowledge to develop a programme that is unique for your organisation, based on commonly observed reactions.

Legacy fundraising needs to be open, honest and considered in its approach. We’ll show you how to talk to your supporters about leaving a gift in their will without causing offence or hurt. We’ll work with you to find out more about your charity and your supporter base. Then we can develop the key messages that they’ll respond to.

Legacy fundraising considerations

When developing a legacy fundraising strategy, we need to think about:

Complying with relevant legal regulations.

Developing long-term relationships with potential donors and their families.

Understanding the potential for families to be upset by a legacy gift, or to feel that the charity has taken advantage of their loved one, and take steps to work with families as a result.

Understanding that many people find it difficult to think about their legacy and to make a will.

An approach to legacy fundraising

Leaving a charity legacy can be an extremely positive end to a person’s life. With the right approach, it can be clear to donors and their families that leaving a legacy gift is not something done in opposition to a person’s family, but as a complement to it. A legacy can be a thoughtful final chapter to be proud of, while family are also well-provided for.

We’ll begin a legacy fundraising programme by having discussions with your donors. To help develop the right legacy programme for your charity and your supporter base, we’ll use focus groups and interviews to find out more about what will work for you.

We can then begin a marketing programme tailored to your charity, with leaflet campaigns, advertisements and internet marketing all potentially playing a part.

A good legacy strategy will evolve over time to meet the changing needs of your donors and your charity. We find that returns are often seen from legacy income around three years after beginning a campaign. That’s why we’ll then look to re-examine your legacy strategy and make changes to see you through to the next phase, with a permanent, sustainable strategy that will keep providing your charity with income for years to come, as well as providing your supporters with a wonderful way to reflect their values in their will.